Grifols will invest €160 million in a new plant in Lliçà de Vall.

BarcelonaGrifols is strengthening its industrial commitment to Catalonia and, especially, to the Vallès Oriental region. Following the storm caused by accusations from the Gotham hedge fund and the resulting internal reorganization, the pharmaceutical company is focusing on its production capacity and will invest €160 million in the construction of a new plant in Lliçà de Vall, where more than 400 jobs will be created once it comes online. During the day, the company's stock market rose 4.34%.

The new facilities will double the company's plasma fractionation capacity in Europe, a process it already carries out at a nearby plant in Parets del Vallès. This process involves extracting the proteins needed to manufacture the medications Grifols markets, specifically those intended for rare diseases such as immunodeficiencies. "It will allow us to meet the growing European demand for plasma-derived medicines," says CEO Nacho Abia, who has been in office for a year. The company, based in Sant Cugat del Vallès, estimates that 300,000 patients on the continent need its drugs.

With a surface area of 80,000 square meters, construction of the Lliçà de Vall factory will begin in 2025. The work will take five years, with operational entry expected around 2030. In addition to the plasma fractionation plant, the facilities also include storage facilities. They will be designed and built by Grifols Engineering, the company's biopharmaceutical facilities provider, which will also operate there.

Located next to Grifols' historic production plant in Parets de Vallès, the pharmaceutical company will create a 25-hectare production complex in Vallès Oriental, where it will house more than 3,700 workers. "Parets del Vallès has been home to Grifols' manufacturing excellence for more than fifty years, and we are delighted to know that the company will not only continue to be a fundamental part of our municipality, but will also expand its presence in the neighbouring town," said the mayor of Parets, Francesc Juzgado. "We are very proud that the company has chosen Lliçà de Vall," added its mayor, Xavi Castillejo.

Founded in 1909, the multinational blood products company has 400 donation centers worldwide and around fifteen factories in Spain, Germany, the United States, and Australia, two of which are also dedicated to plasma fractionation in Clayton and Los Angeles. With a presence in more than 110 countries, the Catalan company employs more than 23,800 people, 4,600 of whom are in Spain.

Return to dividends and a new president

The company is struggling to get back on track after months of stock market decline triggered by allegations of accounting irregularities at Gotham City Research, which are now before the courts. At the last shareholders' meeting, Grifols announced that it was considering returning to its dividend policy "as soon as possible." For the time being, the plan is to pay its first dividends in more than four years this year, based on 2024 results. The meeting debutedAnne-Catherine Berneras the new non-executive chairwoman, the first woman to hold that position in the group. In 2024, the company achieved record revenues (€7.212 billion, up 10.3%).